Mandalay Bay or Delano?

Which Las Vegas hotel room is better for you? On this page we’re analysing some key options between 2 beautiful resorts: Mandalay Bay and ‘Delano’.  The Delano used to be ‘theHotel’ but it underwent a significant transformation into the Delano Las Vegas hotel, aimed at oozing the South Beach atmosphere: white colors, beach, water… A completely transformation from the previous establishment.

However, although it is certainly different from the previous ‘theHotel’ (for example, the dark interior tones have all disappeared) the transformation is not as drastic as originally expected with regards to rooms and suites:  I don’t find them too dissimilar from Mandalay bay in terms of general decor, though I’d say it’s more modern in colors and furniture yet somewhat less meticulously beautiful; the decor of the public areas is still reminiscent of the beautiful ‘theHotel’, so a beautiful blend of classic and modern elegance.

We have a dedicated review page on the Delano Hotel; meanwhile, the following key points affect all rooms and suites belonging to these 2 Vegas South Strip (at the end of the Strip!) resorts.  A few paragraphs below you will also find a full review of the Mandalay Bay resort:

 Classic Elegance versus ‘Young’ Elegance.  If you seek all the modern amenities of a higher-end Vegas resort, such as large flat screen TVs and a charging station, you will have those in either resorts, certainly when you book rooms which are above the cheapest they have to offer.  However, we have noticed a trend which seems to suggest that Mandalay Bay may care much less about high-end customer service and, to be honest, some of its level-entry rooms (the regular rooms) are nothing special at all.  The ‘Bay’ Suites are marginally larger and better (while of course the largest suites, especially those offering direct Strip views, are still spectacular) but:  beware of zero soundproofing if you are unlucky enough to be allocated a connecting room.  Why they can’t either do away with this feature or at least provide basic soundproofing is mind-boggling.  These days if it’s a connecting room I simply refuse to check in.

But overall, though both still beautiful (though as I said Mandalay Bay is a little neglected I think), if you like soft, large, airy, super comfortable yet classical with a hint of Asian influence (disappearing fast), Mandalay Bay may still be the better option, though Delano is now certainly newer.  As we mentioned already, on our last trip we found many Mandalay Bay rooms (we changed many!) to be warn and neglected, with poor low-level customer service.

These are twin resorts so you will be sharing the famous ‘beach’ with artificial waves, which is extremely popular, and a couple of other pool areas and beach clubs, including a topless beach club. The buffet is no longer good enough to warrant any special trip to it; in any case, you will have to walk some distances between facilities and, if walking within the resort is an issue for you, you are advised to consult the resort map and decide which wing (and which of the twin resorts) is closer to your favourite facilities.

Location: They are both at the very end of the Strip; even though there is a much-needed shuttle connecting Mandalay Bay to Luxor and Excalibur, you will only end up at Excalibur, which is very South Strip, so walking up to Mid Strip (and beyond) is going to be appealing only to those fit enough to do so.  Personally, we find it annoying.  We would love for the shuttle to continue all the way to Bellagio, stopping at all MGM resorts on the way.

Mandalay Bay Resort Review:

it used to be a stunning building oozing class from all corners, including customer service. These days, however, after going through a change in guest demographics, during holidays and in the summer you’ll find Mandalay Bay filled with families (and young children) whilst, at the same time, crowded by young party-beach lovers in their twenties. You may find a few convention attendees or middle-aged myVegas guests, but they are, these days, the minorities rather than the majority.   They aim to attract younger crowds and I found (from my own personal experience) that business travellers may be neglected; either that or it was simply chaos.

Rooms: The rooms at Mandalay Bay are still beautiful, although beware because some of them are far from good (for example, on the 7th floor you will have a partial window only!) and some level-entry rooms are warn and neglected in some way or another.  Those who are well kept still offer the old great style and decor, comfortable beds and floor-to-ceiling windows. Even the level-entry rooms boast gorgeous bathrooms (but they removed the TV from those bathrooms!); however, the bathrooms open directly onto the bedroom and, if you have a 2-queen beds room, one of the bed is almost practically inside the bathroom entrance! Not ideal. We have a video of the Mandalay Bay room on the Vegas Videos section.  You will not have an ideal Strip view from many of the rooms because of the angels of the towers (only one and only on one side will offer direct Strip views) and because Mandalay Bay is so far South Strip, so don’t be too upset if you are not assigned a ‘Strip view’.   Some of the suites have amazing Strip views, though, as they face the Strip head-on.

Pools – we have a very recent video of the pool areas at Mandalay Bay in our Vegas Videos section. In brief, you will find a very crowded though large wave pool area, a crowded lagoon area (shallow water), 2 additional pools and one super crowded lazy river. 2 beach clubs including one top-less club where ladies enter free of charge but gentlemen have to pay around 50 dollars to enter (especially during weekends).

Dining. The buffet quality is much, much lower than what you would expect from such a beautiful resort.  One exception is the fact that they offer fabulous blue berries and black berries for breakfast and brunch.  However, you can eat a one of the fanciest restaurants in Vegas (Aureole) or, if you are trying to save money, at the 24-hour Subway just across the road (Convention side, right at the end of it). In between you will find plenty of non-budget restaurants to keep your taste-buds occupied. We have a recent video of the buffet in our videos section and – for the latest videos and news – keep an eye on our Vegas updates page.

Noise – unlike in the past, it has been the noisiest resort in our last experience school holidays and during the summer in particular: so many families with loud children playing along the corridors or pretty much everywhere! It may have been a ‘loud’ wave of guests, but the demographics are to be kept in mind. I wonder if the wave pool (in particular) and the lazy river (and maybe the Shark Reef as well) are such an attraction for some families that they seem to converge here in such large numbers. For this reason, we are not 100% sure it’s an ideal resort for a romantic stay, at least not during those days.  As we mentioned already, there is zero soundproofing between connecting rooms, something which is simply not acceptable of any resort.  I simply refuse a connecting room at Mandalay Bay now.

In some rooms we have heard the noise of planes taking off, as the airport is so close!

Customer Service.  On our last visit customer service was appalling (with a couple of exceptions) as we were tossed from room to room (downgraded each time) because we had dared to want to sleep at 2.30 in the morning while our next door neighbours (connecting rooms with no soundproofing, a real disgrace for any hotel, let alone an expensive one) had a loud, long, drunken argument.  They refuse to let you see the new room and they force you to pack your luggage and leave the 1st room so, if the 2nd room is awful, you are practically left in corridors.  Yuk.

MLife Desk and overall ‘generosity’.   From our experience, their ‘generosity’ after one’s gambling (recycling hundreds and hundreds of dollars per night) leaves a lot to be desired.  Generally speaking, seeing casino marketing (at MGM resorts in Vegas) is getting harder, which is a shame as they are (in general) much more generous than most MLife desk attendants.  A small exception was the MLife desk at Excalibur, Park MGM and Mirage.

The Best 5 Resorts in Vegas  –  Affordable Strip Hotels in Vegas